Being healed by a cat (part 1)

--- Seina's POV ---

'Here I am... Oh, is it considered trespassing if I didn't enter through the main gate...?' Definitely yes, right? But I'm still angry, so I'll take my chances. I'll force whoever ordered this to take responsibility.

At least my non-existent interrogation skills gave me a name, Gehrman... He's apparently a member of the Dark Brotherhood who wanted to test me after seeing what I did during the Xenos attack.

That's it? You would hurt children for such a stupid reason? I'm not even his employee. 'And you sent old men to do it? Couldn't they have been pretty girls at least?'

... My complaints make no sense anymore. I'm already mentally exhausted, and the sun is still sitting right in the middle of the sky. I'll just beat this guy up when I see him and then continue with my day as planned. I hope.

With my mind still buzzing with residual anger, my impulses are totally taking the wheel.

"You, bring him here." I release my hold on one of the assassins and let him drop to the ground. To hell with respecting my elders or whatever. These guys are garbage. The sour stench of his fear hits my nose right before he scrambles up and sprints away as fast as his bare legs can carry him.

"In the meantime, I guess I can practice on the rest of you like Nicole asked."

Time to start. Gagging them? No problem. I lift them into the air without feeling a single ounce of weight. It doesn't matter if I use my own darkness or the natural shadows around us.

'Hey...'

Juggling them? Easy.

'Stop...'

Moving them around by just their arms? A piece of cake.

This is way too easy to be useful! At least I know for sure I don't need to practice the small stuff. How about some blunt force? Without channeling a single drop of magic, I punch one of the hanging men in the stomach as hard as I can.

'Regain control...'

He lets out a loud, wet snort through his nose since his mouth is sealed with darkness. He doubles over and crumples to the grass. It was a solid hit, but I can't actually remember ever punching anyone like this before. I have no idea what I was even expecting.

'Stop already!' A faint pressure builds in the back of my head, like a part of my own mind trying to break through a thick fog. But the anger is too loud.

Let's see... what if I just do the first thing that comes to mind? Go for it! A cool attack!

"Joor Zah Frul!"

A strange wave of darkness magic shoots out of my mouth and washes over one of the men. It glows faintly for a split second, then fizzles out completely... It does absolutely nothing.

'Do you enjoy torturing them?'

I gasp sharply, taking a step back as if I'd been burned.

'... What am I doing?' W-well, that was pointless. I guess too much aimless experimentation is a bad thing too... Y-yeah.

Fortunately, before I can make a bigger fool of myself, my ears twitch at the faint rustle of leaves. Out of the depths of the garden steps... a huge cat. A... Uh, I can't remember the exact breed. One of those big felines. Or are they pantherines? His face is definitely more cute than scary. Um... just a big cat.

He's huge! Easily tall enough to reach my waist if he stood next to me, with a thick, bulky build. He sports giant, fluffy sideburns framing his cheeks, and a coat painted in a mix of yellow and gray with crisp black spots and stripes. His short tail ends in a stark black tip.

Oh, and he's wearing a pretty black sweater that covers part of his torso and front paws.

'Seriously, what was I even doing? Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore.'

He doesn't smell hostile at all. There's no sour scent of aggression, so hopefully he'll let me pet him. That is exactly what my soul needs right now.

He takes a step closer... and I slowly mirror his movement. One step. Two steps. He stops, and I freeze right along with him. Huh, I've never seen an animal quite like this up close, but I really hope he's still wired on basic cat logic. Okay, time to try the old reliable.

"Pspsps..."

Eh, it actually works! Though not by much. He takes a few cautious steps forward, but suddenly his ears press flat against his head. His whiskers pull back, and I can literally hear the static rustle as his fur bristles.

Oh. Right.

"I'm sorry, but please go away."

I completely forgot that I was torturing—sorry, experimenting on these men. I politely ask the floating group of naked old men to leave. I'll talk to Ilona about them later... There are far more pressing matters at hand right now.

I don't have to ask twice. I drop the shadows, and they scramble away into the bushes, leaving us completely alone.

"Cats get nervous in unfamiliar surroundings, right?" I'm talking to myself already? Anyway, a floating cluster of naked, terrified humans definitely falls into that category.

The next step to earning a feline's trust is making him feel safe... I don't know how clean the grass here is, so I quickly sweep it with a subtle pulse of magic. I do it as cunningly as I learned a while ago, keeping my body perfectly still so I don't make any sudden movements. Then, I slowly sink down and sit cross-legged on the lawn. If he can look down on me and scan his surroundings from a higher angle, he'll feel much more secure.

"Psps..."

'No, that only got his attention the first time.' Even though I make that noise out of pure habit, I doubt a wild, unfamiliar creature would feel completely comfortable with just that. As if to confirm my theory, the big cat stays planted in place... At least his scent has settled down, and he looks a bit more relaxed.

Visual language it is, then. I let my fluffy tail slide out and slowly sweep it from side to side across the ground. At the same time, I reach out with both hands and gently pat the grass right in front of my knees.

Works like a charm! After a tense moment, he starts padding toward me again. The most important rule here is patience.

'Should I stop making eye contact?' I wonder... Nah, I want to inspire confidence, not act submissive to him. Or her? I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I don't have any treats on me either. Does catnip even work on big cats like this? I've never actually bought the stuff, so I have no idea. I've heard rumors that it doesn't affect beast-kins, even if it works perfectly on their regular animal counterparts like cats or foxes. Then again, my nose is ridiculously sensitive to certain herbs, so I'm not exactly eager to test that theory on myself.

Let's try talking to him. My voice isn't overly feminine, but it's naturally soft and calm.

"Hi there... Could you come over here?"

I can't quite see his stubby tail from this angle, so I can't read his exact mood. But his scent is calm, he hasn't stopped approaching, and at first glance, he doesn't look scared at all.

"My name is Seina. What's your name, J'zargo or something?"

'What am I saying? Who? Oh well, as long as he comes closer.'

Unlike that sour orange cat from the other day, he doesn't leave me waiting long. He steps closer to sniff one of my hands. I don't miss the chance to gently stroke his nose with my other hand.

Oooh~ His fur is a bit stiff, not quite as soft as I'd like, but it feels nice in its own way. I guess he's tamed enough to wear a sweater, so... Ah, will he get mad if I pet his sideburns? I'll have to try that later.

A few moments later, I know my mission is a complete success. He circles around me, pressing his heavy side against mine several times! He lets me pet him, and after a quick glance, I realize that he's a male.

Totally domesticated!

"Hehe."

"Good for you," a voice says from behind me.

I freeze.

"Didn't you notice we were here?" my cousin asks.

'Of course not! Since when are they here!? Did they just watch me having a one-sided conversation and making stupid noises!?' UGH... AAAHHH!!! Why am I ignoring my surroundings again!? I feel my ears fold back flat against my head in sheer embarrassment.

"That was a very quick change of skin color," Ilona notes.

My nose twitches. She smells a bit like... well, let's ignore that and change the subject as fast as possible.

"H-hello. Um, he seems to know you. Do you know what this kitten's name is?" I ask, pointing down at the massive boy who completely ignores them to search for a comfortable position on my lap.

"Kitten, huh? His name is Maureen. He's some kind of lynx," Ilona explains.

"Yeah, he belongs to the princess," Nicole adds.

"Maureen, Maureen... I like the name." I pause. "Oh... speaking of the princess. A-am I in trouble?" I might as well ask right now.

But... silence.

They just look at each other for a long moment. Finally, Nicole sits down on the grass next to me and answers.

"The royal family is reasonable. You won't be executed or anything, so don't worry."

"Oh... that's good. But doesn't my spell count as a terrorist act?"

"You caused terror, certainly, but it clearly wasn't directed toward anyone important," Nicole says. "It will be problematic, but I'm sure we can label the incident as a certain idiot upsetting the wrong person."

"Oh, you mean that Gehrman guy I heard about?"

"... Yeah. Let's just say he's not exactly well-liked in this country. We can use this incident to our advantage, so don't stress too much about the kingdom's consequences."

"I-I'm glad..."

"I meant consequences from the kingdom. I am still going to punish you."

I gulp. 'Why does that sound so much scarier?'

"The kingdom's troops are moving like crazy. There is panic and even some riots breaking out in various places," Nicole continues. "Your outburst didn't last long, but we just came out of a major emergency. A lot of people are still on edge."

"Yeah... um, I'm sorry."